DESIGN & REALTY
From left: In the living room, the matching arched niches begin a pairing theme, which continues with wood chests by Noir Furniture and Light & Living nickel-base pedestal lamps fitted with cowhide drum shades; the one-story modern Mediterranean home suggests a second floor by way of intersecting pitched portal and roof ridges, with contrasting square and arched clerestory banks.
SERENE Sophistication
Former devotees of traditional design, the homeowners requested a more transitional/modern interior for their new Mediterranean-style home in Paradise Valley.
By David M. Brown Photography by DRufer Photography LLC
“The owners wanted a sophisticated home yet one offering both a sense of contemporary ease and timeless elegance for entertaining friends and family,” says Raegan Ford (raeganford.com), whose Scottsdale interior design firm began working with her clients on materials and furnishings midway through the build. Completed last year on 2 acres, the one-story custom home includes 5,250 square feet of livable space in the five-bedroom main house, plus a one-bedroom guest house. Inside, Ford called for subtle grays and whites on the walls and custom alder cabinetry, as well as sesame oak wide-plank floors for the timeless warmth of wood throughout the main living areas. Against this soft backdrop, statement-making furniture, accessories, standout lighting and soft abstract artwork provide drama and pizazz. In addition, she mixed design elements and textures and inserted color pops for more surprise. “The walls are a blank canvas to bring meaning and presence to the furnishings,” Ford explains. “Yet even with the definitive furniture, a sense of serenity flows throughout the house with the mix of textures and quiet color.” 89
SCOTTSDALE SEPTEMBER 2017 | MODERNLUXURY.COM DESIGN & REALTY
home Modern and simplified, the dining room offers bold black metal display cabinets from Four Hands, showcasing the varying shapes, sizes, colors and textures of the “Their new home is modern family’s serving pieces, and simplified, and its mix of glass and porcelain. design elements give it the elegance and timelessness they envisioned from the start.” – RAEGAN FORD, INTERIOR DESIGNER
From left: The powder room, finished in an elegant white and gray palette, features a short-legged granite- topped cabinet from Kitchen Bath Collection and a scallop-edged mirror from Uttermost; the kitchen, with custom millwork by Mountain View Custom Cabinets, has warmly contrasting oak planking, and a drum-shade chrome and crystal chandelier by Kichler Lighting.
Throughout, the furnishings are gray quartzite countertops and, in the adjacent uncomplicated yet impactful. For instance, in breakfast room, the lattice-back chairs and wood the family room, which expands out to the back trestle table. And, upholstered with a soft blue- slide-pool area through three-quarter floor-to- green diamond pattern fabric, the kitchen bar ceiling collapsible window walls, the print blue stools are an invitation to join the cook. wingback chair contrasts with the neutral palette In the living room, she juxtaposed a classic exemplified by the sofa and a duet of matching sofa with matching midcentury-modern leather armchairs. Pillows and table accessories add more sling armchairs on a wool rug. Curvaceous color punch. And, to signature the home, she mirrors sit above textured wood chests and flank acquired an abacus for the west wall, marking the fireplace, providing different geometric and that both owners are accountants by background. natural elements. In a soft palette, the abstract For the dining room, Ford upholstered the artwork, “Sound of Flute,” continues the chairs in a modern geometric design that plays color contrast. against the flooring, the gray walls and the focal- Ford enjoys coordinating vintage design point black metal display cabinets. elements with classic and modern pieces. In the family room, the blue And, illuminating the kitchen island, a “The softness of color and texture in this Ikat wingback chair, from CR Laine, forms a vignette multilamp chandelier finished in chrome and living room,” she says, “provide the perfect with a table from Mercana crystal infuses glam amid the classic white opportunity to showcase the beautiful and hanging abacus from Pottery Barn. palette, marble backsplash, white and warm midcentury-modern chairs.” 90
SCOTTSDALE SEPTEMBER 2017 | MODERNLUXURY.COM DESIGN & REALTY
home
From top: The traditional breakfast room trestle table is by Restoration Hardware and the pattern chairs from Stanley Furniture; blue, white and rose accent pillows against the subtle family- room sofa reaffirm a design theme in the Paradise Valley home.
She also worked sensitively with the architectural elements in the home, especially its many arches, which frame the entry doorway and characterize some of the home’s windows and passages. In the family room, for example, the cabinetry flanking the hearth is arch-topped, echoing the openings in the room and on the covered patio just beyond, and the chandelier cleverly repeats these curves in a downward fashion. The dual living room mirrors emphasize the arched niches while adding modern elegance. So, too, in the dining room: The display cabinets have radiused tops, reiterating the large entry wall arch and the hallway and kitchen arches. “My clients are very much at home here and very happy,” Ford says. “Their new home is modern and simplified, and its mix of Rough-sawn cedar beams design elements give it the elegance and timelessness they envisioned affirm the indoor-outdoor window wall frame in the from the start.” expansive family room. 93
SCOTTSDALE SEPTEMBER 2017 | MODERNLUXURY.COM